The History Of Chinese New Year

By Andrew Janigian There are over 1,410,000,000 people currently live in China, most of which celebrate Chinese New Year. This makes it one of the most celebrated holidays in the world. In the United States on the other hand, it is very rarely acknowledged. This is why I feel that is important to educate people about the history of Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is an event celebrated by the Chinese every year, starting January 21st and ending February 20th. It celebrates the beginning of the Chinese calendar and the new moon that appears. This new moon is what gives it the name “Lunar New Year.”Lunar is a word meaning moon.

Each year, there is an animal that represents the new year. 2019 is represented by the pig. There are many more animals though, including the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, and Dog. The Chinese believe that depending on the year that you are born, you will have the traits of one of these animals.

According to tradition, the Chinese invented Chinese New Year to scare away the “Year,” a beast that came to terrorize them every year. Loud noises and the color red is supposed to scare it away, thus the fireworks and red kimonos.

In conclusion, I hope to have informed you about the background and story of Chinese New Year and I highly encourage to look up what animal you relate to by going to this website here.